Tornado, Bates
- When
- May 4, 11:40 AM CST
- Where
- Bates County
- Rating
- F3
- Path length
- 2.7 mi
- Path width
- 500 yd
- Coordinates
- 38.430, -94.550
Tornadoes and Hail in Missouri, May 4, 1977
11 tornado, 4 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 3
- Injuries
- 50
- Property damage
- $63 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 19
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
Event by event
11 tornado, 4 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Tornado, Cass
- When
- May 4, 11:45 AM CST
- Where
- Cass County
- Rating
- F3
- Path length
- 27.1 mi
- Path width
- 500 yd
- Deaths
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 15 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $25 million
- Coordinates
- 38.470, -94.520
Hail, Jackson
- When
- May 4, 12:30 PM CST
- Where
- Jackson County
- Measured
- 2.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 38.920, -94.380
Tornado, Saline
- When
- May 4, 1:00 PM CST
- Where
- Saline County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 0.1 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 39.250, -93.220
Tornado, Lafayette
- When
- May 4, 1:15 PM CST
- Where
- Lafayette County
- Rating
- F3
- Path length
- 26.2 mi
- Path width
- 100 yd
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 5 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Coordinates
- 39.000, -93.920
Thunderstorm Wind, Lafayette
- When
- May 4, 1:20 PM CST
- Where
- Lafayette County
- Coordinates
- 39.080, -93.730
Tornado, Pettis
- When
- May 4, 1:45 PM CST
- Where
- Pettis County
- Rating
- F3
- Path length
- 11.2 mi
- Path width
- 700 yd
- Injuries
- 24 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $25 million
- Coordinates
- 38.630, -93.400
Thunderstorm Wind, St. Louis
- When
- May 4, 3:43 PM CST
- Where
- St. Louis County
- Coordinates
- 38.750, -90.370
Thunderstorm Wind, St. Charles
- When
- May 4, 3:50 PM CST
- Where
- St. Charles County
- Coordinates
- 38.780, -90.500
Hail, Jackson
- When
- May 4, 3:55 PM CST
- Where
- Jackson County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 39.120, -94.520
Tornado, Jackson
- When
- May 4, 4:40 PM CST
- Where
- Jackson County
- Rating
- F4
- Path width
- 300 yd
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 39.220, -94.300
Tornado, Clay
- When
- May 4, 4:45 PM CST
- Where
- Clay County
- Rating
- F4
- Path length
- 9.7 mi
- Path width
- 400 yd
- Injuries
- 5 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Coordinates
- 39.230, -94.280
Tornado, Ray
- When
- May 4, 5:05 PM CST
- Where
- Ray County
- Rating
- F4
- Path length
- 2.3 mi
- Path width
- 300 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 39.320, -94.130
Tornado, Ray
- When
- May 4, 5:15 PM CST
- Where
- Ray County
- Rating
- F4
- Path length
- 13.4 mi
- Path width
- 880 yd
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Coordinates
- 39.320, -94.000
Tornado, Carroll
- When
- May 4, 5:50 PM CST
- Where
- Carroll County
- Rating
- F4
- Path length
- 30.3 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Coordinates
- 39.350, -93.750
Tornado, Chariton
- When
- May 4, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Chariton County
- Rating
- F4
- Path length
- 4.9 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Coordinates
- 39.380, -93.180
Hail, Jackson
- When
- May 4, 7:40 PM CST
- Where
- Jackson County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 38.920, -94.600
Thunderstorm Wind, Jackson
- When
- May 4, 8:05 PM CST
- Where
- Jackson County
- Coordinates
- 38.920, -94.520
Hail, Pettis
- When
- May 4, 10:20 PM CST
- Where
- Pettis County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 38.580, -93.230
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado, Lafayette | 1977-05-04 | Direct |
What these are
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Iowa, May 4, 1977
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 4, 1977
- Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, May 4, 1977
- Tornadoes in Minnesota, May 4, 1977
- Tornadoes in Indiana, May 4, 1977
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, May 4, 1977
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, May 4, 1977
- Damaging Winds in Florida, May 4, 1977
- Hail and Damaging Wind in North Dakota, May 4, 1977
- Hail in Texas, May 4, 1977
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 4, 1977
More
Every storm in Missouri in 1977Every state in 1977This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Missouri, 1977
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10059537, 10059538, 10059539, 10059540, 10059541, 10059542, 10059543, 10059544, 10059545, 10059546, 10059547, 10059548, 10059549, 10059550, 10059551, 10059552, 10059553, 10059554, 10059555.